Moqueca (pronounced “mo-KEH-kah”) is a Brazilian stew typical from the northern state of Bahia. Brazilians have been making moqueca for at least 300 years.

I ate quite a few Moquecas when I went to Brazil last year and I couldn’t wait to cook my vegan version on my return to London.

It’s exotic and super simple to make.

Moqueca in Bahia is usually accompanied by rice and farofa – which is simply fried/toasted manioc flour. I highly recommend you serve the Moqueca with farofa as it adds a special crunchy and unusual touch to the whole experience.

In London I buy manioc flour and palm oil at a Brazilian/Portuguese supermarket but you can also find it at some other speciality shops like health stores. I only buy Brazilian Palm Oil (which lasts forever by the way) as the Asian brands have bad reputation for being unethical – harming our orangutan friends who live in the area.

If you absolutely can’t find Brazilian palm oil you can use olive oil but the flavour won’t be as authentic (says the girl who veganised this recipe).

Optional

Farofa

Directions

We start off by adding most of the ingredients on a medium saucepan (don't switch on the heating just yet):

- layer 1/2 of the palm oil
- layer 1/2 of the onions
- layer 1/2 of the peppers
- layer 1/2 of the tomatoes
- layer 1/2 of the smoked tofu
- layer 1/2 of the lemon juice

Repeat the above once more. Then pour the coconut milk over it all followed by the vegetable stock powder. Cover and simmer on a medium/low heat for 20 mins.

Plantain

Step 2

In the meantime add 2 Tablespoons of olive oil into a large pan. Heat it thoroughly, until it's hot enough to sizzle when you add a bit of plantain. Lay the plantain pieces (in a single layer) in the hot oil and fry them until they're tender and deep golden, which takes about 7 minutes. Flip the plantain pieces halfway through the frying process. When they're done transfer them to paper towel-lined plates to drain.

Farofa

Step 3

Using the same pan, add another 2 Tablespoons of olive oil followed by the garlic, manioc flour and salt. Stir with a wooden spoon for about 3 to 4 minutes until the flour is golden and crunchy. If it starts turning brown it means it's burning, you don't want that. Once it's cooked transfer the Farofa to a bowl.

Final Step

Step 4

Stir half the coriander (or parsley) into the Moqueca and sprinkle the rest over the top. Also add the chopped chilli if you like a bit of spice. Serve with the plantains, farofa and rice. Enjoy!

3 Comments

Katie (The Muffin Myth)

Wow, this looks like quite the amazing stew! I love so many of the things going on here: smoked tofu, plaintain, coconut. Yum! My husband is in Brazil on business right now, so I should totally send him a shopping list so we can make this when he gets home. Thanks for such an inspirational recipe.

Jess

Que deliciosa! I have made this moqueca quite a few times since I found the recipe and it never fails. I don’t live in London but found a bottle of molho de dendê (or red palm oil) when I was in Liverpool for the authentic taste. I think the layering is very important to the original recipe so I’m very happy yours has it. Thank you!

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